England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
